Written by Autumn Swiers

The times they are a’changin, and if The Byrds were the soundtrack to the ‘60s, then the soundtrack to The Year 2026 is screaming. Just a lot of screaming. Sonically, this is harder to do in a compelling way than the modern listener may suspect. In order for a musician to scream in a way that is compelling and not contrived, it must be sincere, cannot be stylized, and absolutely has to come from a voice that sounds like it’s been alive for a hundred years. Even the untrained/cirrhosed ear has an “insincerity-radar” that could cut a diamond. Indeed, Jake King’s 7 minute 45 second tape “Rock & Roll” does not sound stylized, or self-conscious, or (to those who seek pleasure rather than catharsis from their albums) even all that attractive. This is the point. Like so many others in 2026, Your Reporter has eagerly been awaiting the Second Coming, and King’s “Rock & Roll” is it. Not since Sonic Youth’s “Confusion Is Sex / Kill Yr Idols” or Captain Beefheart’s “Trout Mask Replica” has a capsule been released that is so tough to listen to yet so damn good. In fact, it’s the best thing that’s come across Your Reporter’s desk all year. 

Seasoned heads may recognize Jake King from the Buffalo, N.Y.-based TTTT or from his eponymous solo project – which (surprise) has historically leant more toward what King calls “quiet/freak-folk” in the past. Whether those days are over remains to be seen. But, it is the repugnant opinion of your reporter that the modern music scene is – has been – suffering from a waterboard-level surplus of “quiet folk” singers, and our water-wings popped around 2023. Something about the hyper-contemplative, tender, impotent Neil Young worship trend is (forgive us) getting old – and, worse, it’s metastasized to the point of tone-deafness against the backdrop of the world in which those vibrations are being played. The modern listener (if he has a pulse) also has rage, and lots of it. Not every songwriter has the ability to transcend these realms; King jumps the chasm with power to spare. And he left us the antidote in his instep. 

If all the time you can spare for some open-wound catharsis is eight minutes on a 9-to-5 lunch break, you’re far from alone. Chances are you’ll feel less alone after hearing this fucken thing (“Are they inside the house?? Marty, I’m scared”). Nay, this is the release we’ve been waiting for. King’s label The New Disposable has, fittingly, just dropped the soundtrack to The New Youth. There’s even a killer track all about Paranoia on the record, too. 

At first glance, the tape’s hand-drawn cover makes Raymond Pettibon do 80 RPM in his grave. Then, play the tape for five seconds and the “Rock & Roll” title becomes a hilariously smart, forked-tongue-in-cheek dig at the genre/pastiche. Throughout the entire tape, lofi vocals crackle over driving drum beats. There are seldom more than three chords per song. The guitar licks are full of feeling and plunge a hand into your guts. The tape’s penultimate track “Little Did I Know” is almost surf rock, but surf rock if 13th Floor Elevators had met Spacemen 3 and kicked the snot out of each other. It’s perfect. If it wasn’t made abundantly clear, your reporter is an instant and card-carrying fan. 

Ears up: The “Rock & Roll” tape is out on King’s label The New Disposable on April 30th with a run of 150 copies. “This new tape is 5 fast + loud garage punk songs, released in anticipation of the new live Jake King Band,” King tells Ugly Hug. Underline “anticipation” of whatever’s on the horizon from the promised new project. Until then, we’ll be bumping this pint-sized tape, and drunkenly playing “Last Call” at fellow bar patrons foolish enough to grant us polite attention. It’s a soberingly good closer to a soberingly good (and masterfully-timed) tape.

Listen to Rock And Roll out now, as well as snag it on cassette via Jake King’s own label, The New Disposable.